Knitted fabric and article of wearing apparel made therefrom



Feb. 26, 1935.

A. E'. lscHlNGER 1,992,667

i KNITTED FABRIC AND ARTCLE vOF WEARING APPAREL MADE 'PHI'IREFROM 'l A Filed Jun 8, 1935'x 2 Sheets-sheet 1 JNVENTOR.-

Plsi-- Feb. 26, 1935. A. E. lscHlNGER nEFRoM KNITTED FABRIC AND ARTI'CLE 0F WEARING APPAREL MADE THE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8, A1933 "IFLGJL Patented Feb. 26, 1935 'r'rnn Faro ARTCLE F WIE- ING:d APPAREL MADE THEREFRGM Alfred E. Ischinger,

Mount lPenn, Pa., assignor to Berkshire Knitting Mills,

Wyomissing, Pa., a

corporation of Pennsylvania Application .time 8 1933, Serial No. 674,8'11 4 Claims. (Cl. (i6-172) This invention relates to knitted fabrics and to knitted articles of wearing apparel, such as hosiery, consisting mainly of plain or slip loops; and more particularly to novel articles of this type 5 having therein special coursewise limited areas which impart thereto new, tageous features.

It is well known that knitted articles of wearing apparel, such as ladies silk stockings, are mainly made up of plain or slip loops because such loop formation. can be readily produced at comparatively low cost with simple mechanism and because of the desirable characteristics of quality and appearance which it imparts to such articles; also that the fine yarn used,'inherent loop strains, imperfections not detectable during manufacture, and exposure to tearing, all contribute to make such articles extremely sensitive to yarn rupture when in use and consequently to damage by the formation of so called runners therein.

Attempts have been heretofore made to commercially produce ladies silk stockings which are partly or entirely impervious to runners, but, in each such case, more or less detrimental results have been experienced; usually the desirable characteristics of quality, expansibility and appearance were impaired, or their production cost was excessive and outweighed the advantages gained.

One object of my invention is to overcome the detrimental results heretofore experienced in the production of knitted fabrics and articles of wearing apparel impervious to runners, in a simple and practical manner.

Another object is to provide novel stockings having special coursewise limited non-run-loop areas in, and adjacent to the welt, which enhance the appearance of the stockings, increase their serviceability, function as marks of distinction and defined garter fastener attaching areas impervious to runners.

A further object is the production of .novel full fashioned hosiery provided with such areas, and

desirable and advansimilar additional areas located at various other points, which impart thereto one or more of the mentioned attributes; for example, along the seam of the stocking, or at points of wear, yarn or loop strain, or at places exposed to tearing.

Another feature of my invention resides in the provision of ladies hosiery consisting mainly of plain slip loops and embodying therein coursewise v limited non-run areas of interlocked loops so designed and arranged as not to affect the usual desirable characteristics of quality, expansibility,

sheerness and appearance due to plain loop formations, and additionally imparting ornamental, non-run and other features thereto; such hosiery being of a construction readily producible on one or more knitting machines and at minimum cost. With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel knitted fabrics and articles of wearing apparel as herein set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings showing several illustrative embodiments thereof in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a novel stocking provided with special coursewise' limited areas in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged rear elevational view of the upper end 'of the stocking shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a' flat knitted stocking blank having therein areas of non-run loop formation, such as illustrated in the stocking of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view, through the stocking fabric of Fig. 3, taken substantially as indicated by the arrows 4-4 on Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a full fashioned stocking, as seen from the rear, and shows a mdified form of my invention.

Fig. 6 is a flat knitted stocking blank of the type from which the stocking of Fig. 5 is formed.

Fig. '7 is a cross-sectional view, through the stocking fabric of Fig. 6, taken as indicated by the arrows 7-'7 on said figure.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the portion of the stocking fabric indicated by the dot-and-dash lines F in Fig. 6, and illustrates one form of lock stitch which may be employed 1n practicing my invention.

The drawings show several illustrative and practical embodiments of my invention, in connection with full fashioned stockings and the flat knitted fabric blanks from which such `stockings are made, but it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention, as herein disclosed, may be embodied in many other fabric constructions, as well as various articles of wearing apparel, and to be so embodied with equal facility, and to obtain the same desirable results.

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Fig. 1, which illustrates one embodiment of my invention, a novel full fashioned stocking; comprises, in general, a welt W, a leg portion L, and a foot F. The stocking consists substantially of plain slip-loop fabric, P, which is made up of fine silk or synthetic yarns, and therefore has all the desirable characteristics of sheerness, elasticity and fine appearance ordinarily inherent in ladies silk hosiery produced of plain knitted or other slip-loop fabric, on one or more full fashioned knitting machines.

As is well known, one point of frequent yarn rupture in stockings of this type is where a garter fastener is attached, as in and directly below the welt W; the garter fasteners being usually applied directly at the front and rear, in ladies stockings, or at diametrically opposite sides thereof. In order to prevent the formation of runners due to this cause, it is therefore desirable that, in addition to the usual characteristics and features found in plain knitted stockings, they be also made impervious to runners at certain points, and, to this end, my novel stocking is provided with special confined, or vcoursewise limited non-run areas, in the present instance, consisting of interlocked, and staggered, loop formations, the construction of which will be later described; such areas being diagrammatically indicated by the stippled portions 10, 11, 12 and 13. The areas 12 and 13 are each made up of two similar sections 32 and 33, Fig. 2, joined by the stocking seam S.

The areas 10, 11, 12 and 13, besides being impervious to runners if rupture of the yarn occurs therein, are also of such qualifications as to be distinguishable by their contrast with the surrounding plain knitted areas, and thus serve as garter attaching markers, or ornamentations, or as other distinctive elements.

The novel stocking, of Figs. 1 and 2, is made of a ilat knitted fabric blank, such as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the corresponding confined nonrun areas being indicated in these figures by the reference characters corresponding to those in Figs. 1 and 2, having the exponent l added thereto. The non-run fabric blank side portions 321 andI 331, which make up the rear non-run portions 12 and 13 of the stocking, serve to prevent formation of runs at the side edges of the blank during the seaming operation at the welt, as Well as to afford protection against the formation of runs when a garter may be attached at a single ply of the fabric at the usual seam opening 2e. Such a stocking blank is provided, in usual and well known manner, with a foot portion (not shown), and made into a full fashioned stocking, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, by the well known seaming operation joinin'g the free edges of the blank.

Fig. 2 illustrates the rear top portion of the stocking of Fig. 1 and the manner in which the coursewise limited non-run area 12 extends wale- Wise along the stocking seam S, crosses the welt W from top to bottom and terminates in the stocking L in the form of the continuous extension 13. This arrangement, in addition to adording protection against runners due to yarn rupture resulting from garter fasteners, also protects the point X, where the seam S and welt-and-leg juncture line, indicated at J, meet; this point being ordinarily under unusual loop and yarn strain when the stocking is worn and, for this reason, frequently being reinforced by the addition of an extra yarn in the leg part L directly adjacent to, and about, said point, thereby to minimize the possibility of yarn rupture. By making the area adjacent to this point impervious to runners, in the manner of my invention, such reinforcement may be dispensed with; damage resulting from' yarn rupture being confined or localized and not permitted to progress walewise as in the case of a reinforced area.

By referring to Fig. 4, it will be noted that the non-run area 101 in this figure, indicated by stippling between the cross-sectional lines, is continuous and incorporated in both the inner and outer walls of the welt W1 joined at J1, andextends partly into the leg portion L of the stocking to form the extended area 111. The areas 101 and 111 thus being integral and continuous, and entirely surrounded by plain slip loops P1, which latter are diagrammatically indicated by plain section lining in Fig. 4 and the plain white portions P surrounding said areas in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7, respectively, illustrate modications of my invention in the form of a novel stocking and the fabric from which the same is made, the parts corresponding to those illustrated in the previous gures being indicated by corresponding reference characters having the exponent 2 added thereto. The non-run areas 15, 16 and 17 in the welt W2, in this instance, are entirely surrounded by plain slip loop fabric P2. The non-run area 18, which originates a short distance below the top of the stocking at the rear, extends along the seam S2, across the welt W2, and continues, in the form of a `band 18B and 1811, down through the leg L2 to the reinforced heel R. The areas 15, 16, 17, 18 and 181, in this instance, serve as non-run garter fastener attaching areas in conjunction with the additional conned non-run areas 19, 20 and 21 below the welt; the part 18b protecting the seam S2 against runners throughout the leg part L2 below part 18e. As an added feature of this stocking, non-run areas 22 and 23 are provided at the ends of the heel suture seams 25 and 26 to prevent formation of runners due to rupture of the yarn at these critical points which are also frequently reinforced by an additional yarn.

It will be noted that the embodiments of Figs. 5 and 6 permit of the provision of a picot edge E, in that plain knitted areas P2, made up of plain slip loop courses, extend horizontally across the entire stocking fabric at the point of folding of the welt W2.

Fig. 8 illustrates one way in which the special areas, diagrammatically represented by stippling throughout the several figures, are made impervious to the formation of runners in accordance with my invention. Spread and interlocked loops I are provided in selected courses and such loops are staggered in succeeding interlocking courses C, C1, C2, C3, etc., as clearly shown, and well known in the art, as, for instance, in the U. S. patent to Schwartz, No. 1,470,490. Another example of non-run loop formation suitable for this purpose, and the means for, and method of, producing the same are disclosed in the two U. S. Graenz Patents Nos. 1,856,053 and 1,862,514. It is to be understood that other forms of lock loop formations may be designed for giving the special areas non-run and other desirable characteristics accomplishing the results pointed out, and therefore the invention is not limited to any particular loop arrangement, my invention residing in the provision of confined or coursewise limited non-run loop areas to eect the results pointed out.

As previously mentioned, the plain or slip loops P, clearly shown in Fig. 8, are indicated -by the plain or white areas adjacent to, or surrounding the non-run areas, as the.case may be, Fthroughout the several figures of the drawings, and it is to be understood that the term slip loops is used generically, and means any type of loop interengaged by the action of one loop or series run areas of any geometrical or ornamental .20 the novel knitted vistics of quality, expansibility, vpearance of shape as indicated by an area 20, producible on -knittngmachines or in any other suitable manner.

For brevity in the claims, the term stocking is used in a generic sense, and includes 'full length or knee length hosiery, half hose, andthe like; and the expression` welt part generically denes the upper portion of the stocking to which garters or other fastener means may be secured.

From the foregoing it will be, apparent that fabrics and stockings of my all the desirable charactersheerness, ne ap-v suchv articles heretofore produced,

invention embody and additionally other sirable features, at practically no inereasein production cost.

Of course, the various novel fabric construc- V tions and stockings .specifically set forth may be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed Y and hereinafter claimed.

a runner, or

' 'attaching non-run-loop areas, extending over a pl' distinctive and highly de- I claim: i

l. A stocking comprising a welt part consisting substantially of slip loops, and having therein one or more coursewise limited each such area courses. A

2. A-full fashioned stocking comprising a welt part and a leg part. consisting substantially of slip loops, and having adjoining th seam thereof one or more 4cour'sew'ise 4. In al full fashioned stocking vcomprising a welt part, a leg part, and a foot part having a heelA suture seam, each of said parts consisting substantially of slip loops; one or more coursewise limited garter vfastener attaching non-rimgarter fastener y limited non-run-loop areas. each such area: extending over a plurality ty of adjoiningwales and f loop areas in said welt part; one or more coursewise limited non-run-loop areas adjoining the seam of said welt and leg parts; and a coursewise limited non-run-loop area adjoining the end of the heel suture seam of said footpart.

ALFRED n. IscmGER. 

